Simulator Build so Far

[Joedirt]

Figure I would upload some pics of my project thus far in case it could help anyone as I have got a lot of help from this forum. My garage floor has a decent amount of slope so I started by building a level frame. My main goal was to have the fiberbuilt mat the same height as the hitting turf, which is near two inches. I used 1" tongue and groove plywood around the hitting mat and then under the hitting mat 19/32 piece of plywood. Around the hitting mat has 1" gym mats I got from Amazon and then will put the turf on top to get it as close to the fiberbuilt mat height as possible. I got the frame for 5' enclosure done, I went with a DIY kit from Carls. Once i get the turf on and the rest of the enclosure built i will provide some more pics.
Cheers,
Joe

[richerod]

Wow. Great idea. What is the overall size of the frame? What LM are you using? How much space will be behind screen and the wall/window?

[Joedirt]

The frame is 12x14. I am waiting on my skytrak launch monitor. Behind the screen to the frame I plan on leaving a half foot at least, from the frame to the window is a couple feet. I plan on putting a net behind the hitting screen just as a secondary protection.
Thanks,
Joe

[Joedirt]

Here is an update nearly done just a couple more touches and waiting on LM

[richerod]

Fantasic job! Framing the platform really looks professional. How is the bounce back? Are the balls staying on the platform? Where are u placing keyboard/mouse/compter?

[Joedirt]

Yes they are staying on the platform, I need to put my mattress pad and moving blankets behind the impact screen to help with bounce back. I was just going to place my laptop on my toolbox or get a cheap stand from amazon.

[Heynance]

I am ordering just the fiberbuilt strip (we have a leftie in the family, so the full mat doesn’t work). My putting turf has a 1/4 inch backing and about 1/8 inch of grass. Do you recommend the 1 inch MMA mat or 1.5 inch (in order to best fit the level the fiberbuilt hitting strip? Also, can you tell me about your putting area/cups? Thanks; your build is very inspiring!

[Joedirt]

1.5 inch will probably get you closer but it would probably be a little tall I would just get one inch and then if you end up wanting to add to it you can. I recommend the prosource 1” mats from Amazon the quality is really good and you can’t beat the price. The cups I got from Amazon as well, 2 pack of them just search kingtop cups they were $12. The putting area I used turf squares from ez carpet they have free shipping and the squares are really easy to work with. The backing on them is terrible so I used construction adhesive/ carpet adhesive to glue the squares to the mats. Hope this helps.
Joe

[Natedog19]

Figure I would upload some pics of my project thus far in case it could help anyone as I have got a lot of help from this forum. My garage floor has a decent amount of slope so I started by building a level frame. My main goal was to have the fiberbuilt mat the same height as the hitting turf, which is near two inches. I used 1" tongue and groove plywood around the hitting mat and then under the hitting mat 19/32 piece of plywood. Around the hitting mat has 1" gym mats I got from Amazon and then will put the turf on top to get it as close to the fiberbuilt mat height as possible. I got the frame for 5' enclosure done, I went with a DIY kit from Carls. Once i get the turf on and the rest of the enclosure built i will provide some more pics.
Cheers,
Joe

hey Joe, what did you use underneath that flooring to level the base? Are those just shims? I can’t quite tell from the pictures.

also how do you find the squares for putting? Is the surface pretty smooth? Or does the ball bounce a lot as it rolls over each joint?

thanks for the images and details. I have the exact same slope issues in my garage and am debating the best way to tackle it. I was considering getting epoxy installed and the floor levelled. But that’s quite a big cost compared to this solution.

thanks!

[Joedirt]

Yes shims to reinforce the 2x4s that are running across under the floor, just composite ones. The squares for putting i got from ez carpet, i originally tried using one piece of grizzly grass but cutting it and working around the fiberbuilt mat was somewhat challenging. So I just got the squares which were more expensive, the adhesive backing on them sucks so i used carpet adhesive/ construction adhesive. It is pretty smooth and doesnt bounce a lot but one big piece would be a little better and cleaner look. As far as the floor I leveled it using 2x4s both ways and then shimmed it to reinforced them. The long 2x4 running east and west i just leveled them as I went and obviously you have more shims as you get closer to the drain due to the slope. Hope this helps. I uploaded a pic with my ceiling net.
Joe

[pcgolfer]

Hey Joe, awesome build! I've been staring at your pictures and getting inspiration for my v2 build. While I was looking at your recent pictures I had the idea that you could screw a small bracket into each corner of your wood perimeter and attach a bungee to the bracket and each corner of your netting to eliminate the need of the bags and clean up the look a bit. I assume you've already had a similar thought, considering how professional the job looks already, but thought I'd throw it out there in case you hadn't!

Good luck with the finishing touches and thanks for sharing.

[Joedirt]

Honestly i didn't even think of that but i just ordered some brackets for that, great idea. Appreciate the feedback and good luck with your build, happy to help out.
Joe

[richerod]

Will a projector be mounted through the ceiling netting?

[Joedirt]

lol I am trying to figure that out I am in a bit of a pickle with that and am going to post to the projector section. It is always something.....
Joe

[richerod]

Curious about why ceiling netting extends out as much as you have. Is it to protect the flouescent tubes on the ceiling?

[Joedirt]

I just did that because my garage door struts were there and it made it super easy to connect to.

[Kaos]

Nice idea...I hope you have a way to control climate year around or that your climate is mild.

[Joedirt]

I have heat in my garage right now and am working on getting ac for this summer.
Joe

[kirkemg]

Are you going to use the skytrak metal case? I have the same FB mat and cant figure out the best way to micro adjust the ST (roll & tilt) with the case because you aren't using the the feet/screws the case comes with. Reason being it's already level with the hitting area. Does that make sense?

[Joedirt]

Yes I am going to use the metal case.

[Joedirt]

Got the projector mounted and I got a big moving blanket that’s made by spectrum golf it is night and day when hitting into it, well worth the money.
joe

[chrisward3]

Did you have to tilt the projector up slightly to deal with the vertical offset and the 5’ enclosure?

im putting together a similar setup, and want to go with an Optoma projector, but the 17” vertical offset at 8’ back would interfere with the enclosure roof. Any details or measurements about the projector placement would be helpful!

[Sailorman]

The projector location is a huge deal if you want to project the image without degrading it by having to do a keystone adjustment. Keystoning causes a reduction in resolution, and I believe it also causes more processor work for the projector and can even slow down the refresh rate. I just installed an Optoma projector about 7 feet out from my 14.5 foot wide impact screen. I had to build a custom enclosure so that the "roof" could angle up to accommodate the projector offset. I don't understand why none of these enclosure suppliers have a model where the roof is angled up to accommodate the short-throw projectors that most everyone uses.